It has been some time…since I posted something on this blog.

I haven’t posted anything recently because I have been spent the last several months listening to God and watching Him at work. I truly think a time of listening to God is very beneficial to our spiritual maturity. The last three to four months has been extremely hard on our son Eric, his wife Cheyanne and our entire family. However, as I look back on the time and the events that have transpired, I have seen the hand of God throughout the journey.

There are times…seasons… in our lives that we need to rest in God, watching and observing Him at work even in the midst of a storm. When we remove the busyness in our lives, we begin to see situations through His eyes rather than our own. The moments alone or with family become a more meaningful time with God. It is these times that he reveals His glory to us.

I am so thankful of the “fighting spirit” that the Lord put in my son Eric…he has fought battle after battle over the past nearly 9 years…never complaining…never giving up. I thank God for Eric’s faith. I also thank God for the life partner and caregiver, Cheyanne, that the Lord brought into Eric’s life. Her love for Eric, her patience and caring spirit is incredible. I thank God for a mother’s love that my wife Gail has towards Eric. A mother’s love is stronger than anything on this earth and Gail demonstrates that every day.

I also thank God for a community of believers that He has placed us in that has been praying for and interceding for Eric and our family

I thank the Lord for His love for me…in spite of all of my weaknesses, mess ups and human frailties. He loves me just the way I am. I thank Him that He is so patient with me, that He waits for me to be still for a season as He strengthens, encourages, matures, teaches and refines me.

So, there is where I have been the past several months. Today, my faith is stronger that it has ever been. How about yours?

I received this from my son the other day. Pretty interesting perspective from a a young man that has been battling cancer and related health issues for over 8 1/2  years!

“The Will of God will never take you to a place where the Grace of God will not protect you.”

Tremendous wisdom from a young man that has been through so much.

Enough said.

Many of our friends and family have asked us what they can do for us as we sit with Eric in ICU. Our first response is “pray”…pray for physical healing, pray the meds will  do their job and clear up these infections, pray for wisdom for the doctors and pray that Eric will continue the fight. Interestingly, the following is the question of the week from http://www.gotquestions.org which arrived in my email inbox a few minutes ago. I wanted to share it with you.

Question: “Why pray? What is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything. If we cannot change God’s mind, why should we pray?”

Answer: For the Christian, praying is like breathing. It is easier to do it than to not do it. We pray for a variety of reasons. For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is exemplified for us by Christ and the early church (Mark 1:35; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 13:1-3). If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also. If He needed to pray to remain in the Father’s will, how much more do we need to pray?

Another reason to pray is that God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations. We pray in preparation for major decisions (Luke 6:12-13); to overcome demonic barriers (Matthew 17:14-21); to gather workers for the spiritual harvest (Luke 10:2); to gain strength to overcome temptation (Matthew 26:41); and to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually (Ephesians 6:18-19).

We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God’s promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for (Matthew 6:6; Romans 8:26-27). He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:14-15). Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations, we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8). Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.

For situations in which we do not know God’s will specifically, prayer is a means of discerning His will. If the Syrian woman with the demon-influenced daughter had not prayed to Christ, her daughter would not have been made whole (Mark 7:26-30). If the blind man outside Jericho had not called out to Christ, he would have remained blind (Luke 18:35-43). God has said that we often go without because we do not ask (James 4:2). In one sense, prayer is like sharing the gospel with people. We do not know who will respond to the message of the gospel until we share it. In the same way, we will never see the results of answered prayer unless we pray.

A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for (Ephesians 3:20). Prayer is our primary means of seeing God work in others’ lives. Because it is our means of “plugging into” God’s power, it is our means of defeating Satan and his army that we are powerless to overcome by ourselves. Therefore, may God find us often before His throne, for we have a high priest in heaven who can identify with all that we go through (Hebrews 4:15-16). We have His promise that the fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much (James 5:16-18). May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayer.

I woke up early this morning (sometime before 5:00 am) with this verse on my mind…

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NASB)

Now as I sit outside the Intensive Care Unit where the doctors and nurses are caring for our son, I take great comfort in this word from God. I know that God put this verse in my mind this morning because He knew exactly what I needed as I awoke this morning. This is going to be a difficult day as Eric is going to be placed on a dialysis machine. His kidneys are not working. However, I know that Eric is in good hands. It is a day that we will draw our strength from the Lord and receive comfort from His Word.

Just came across a free spiritual gifts survey…check out this website: http://buildingchurch.net/g2s.htm

My top three spiritual gifts are:

• Administration

• Leadership

• Service

Identifying our spiritual gifts allows us to understand how God has gifted us to fulfill His purpose and serve in the local church and community.

I am sitting outside the ICU room where our son Eric is resting by means of a ventilator and heavy sedation fighting pneumonia. Throughout the day I have voiced many prayers and heard of many by friends and family. Tonight when words no longer seem sufficient, I take great comfort in the following verse of Scripture:

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)

Amen.